Lorenzo de Minico's Thought in the Development of Accounting Theory in Italy: An Understated Contribution

Abstract

The first decades of the twentieth century were years of innovation for Italian accounting theory: a new scientific approach, the Economia aziendale, was developed and affirmed as the dominant paradigm. Among its main ideas were new concepts of capital and income, strongly influenced by Irving Fisher. The analysis of Lorenzo de Minico's entire scientific output demonstrates that he played a significant role in the ‘revolution’ which history credits almost exclusively to Gino Zappa. A critical methodological issue is confirmed: the lack of completeness in doing accounting history might lead to imprecise or incomplete knowledge of the evolution of accounting. Furthermore, this article tries to demonstrate that the structure of the real economy has played an important role in the assimilation of international theories in Italy, leading accounting theory in that country to be quite far removed from the Anglo-American approach.